Front page FAQ: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 15:00, 2 July 2020

What do we mean by the 'front page' of Moodle?

The front page is the site home page. The front page link in the navigation block and navigation bar is called 'Home'.

When logged in, a user's customized home page is called the 'Dashboard'.

How can I change the look of the front page?

There are various ways of enhancing your front page without needing access to theme files on the server. First, see the section on tips and tricks in Front page settings.
If you are using Classic, Boost or other bootstrap-based themes you can then do some cool things with Bootstrap layout elements, as described in the thread LOOK & LEARN: How to add marketing spots as a front page topic.
See also the simple customisation of the School demo front page in Standard themes.
You can set a different front page for guests and logged in users with Conditional activities as described in the thread Show a different page to guests and logged in users.
You may consider installing a custom theme from the Moodle plugins directory.

How can I add text and a picture to the centre column?

In Administration > Front page settings > Edit settings make sure that 'Include a topic section' is ticked
In Administration > Front page settings click 'Turn editing on'
Return to the front page and click the edit icon at the top of the centre column
Add text and a picture
Click the 'Save changes' button

How can I change the logo to the front page?

In Administration > Site administration > Appearance > Themes click the name of the theme you are using (If you're not sure which theme you are using, you can find out in Administration > Site administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme selector)
Enter the URL for your logo. (Note - you must previously have uploaded your logo somewhere online)
Click the 'Save changes' button

Note: This setting is only available for certain themes.

How do I get rid of a resource/activity that's appeared in "Site Pages"?

When a resource or activity (like a page, file or forum) is added to the Main menu block on the front page, it will appear in the Site Pages of the Navigation block. To remove this link, turn on the editing on the front page, go to or add the Main menu block and click to delete the item.

How can I prevent activities I made on the front page being seen in the navigation block?

Uncheck the box "Show front page activities in the navigation" in Administration > Site administration > Appearance > Navigation.

How can I hide front page blocks from guests but show to logged in users?

See Blocks FAQ

How can I show front page blocks to guests but hide from logged in users?

See Blocks FAQ

I want to limit the number of courses that appear on the Front Page

At this time, there is no easy way to do this, as such. In Administration>Site administration>Appearance>Courses, you can change the number of courses to be displayed on one page to a different number. Currently, the default is 20, but you can make it whatever you want. It is still messy, though. You can also, from Administration>Site administration>Front page>Front page settings, change what is displayed after login to show only categories.

One way of resolving this issue is to replace the course and Category list on the Front Page with a HTML block that links off to the various category pages. This keeps your courses off the front page altogether.

There are a couple of ways to do this, you can have a list of Categories, in a table, or you can use a table full of icons, much the same as Moodle's front page. Depending on your number of Categories, say 11 different subject areas and one Administration area creates a table either four columns or four rows. For most people, the orderly nature of a balanced table implies an orderly site that is really welcome, particularly if the images linking to a Category are clear and the alt tag text says what it is linking to.

How do I enable logged-in users to participate in front page activities?

Either:

Go to Administration > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles and edit the 'Authenticated user on frontpage' role
Allow capabilities for the front page activities
Click the 'Save changes' button

Or:

Go to Administration > Site administration > Front Page > Front Page settings
Set the default front page role to student
Click the 'Save changes' button

How can I add a page to the front page?

With the editing turned on, add the Main menu block if it isn't already present.
Click Add and activity or resource and add a Page.

If you wish the page to be hidden but accessible from the top dropdown menu, then:

Copy the page's URL.
Hide the block.
Go to Site administration>Appearance>Themes>Theme settings and add your page URL to the custom menu items box according to the instructions.

Note that if it is possible to install plugins on your Moodle site then you can also use the Static pages plugin.

How can I get rid of the site short name in the navigation bar?

Sometimes if the short and full names of your site are similar, you might wish to hide the short name. If you are using the Clean or More theme, you can do this by adding lines to the custom CSS box in the appropriate theme settings page.

To hide the short name but keep the space where it used to be, add:

a.brand {visibility:hidden}

To hide the short name and also remove the space where it used to be, add:

.navbar .brand {display: none;}

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 {{Front page}}
-The [[Front Page]] can be complex. It deals with [[Themes]], it's [[Front Page settings|own settings]], many features used in a [[Course]], [[Roles]] and [[Authentication]]s.  It is also the first page a site administrator will try to tweak and customize.
+==What do we mean by the 'front page' of Moodle?==
-<p class="note">''There were major changes in themes and the way front page operates in 2.0.  This version of MoodleDocs may have references to the old way.  Plese help us update it for 2.0.''</p>
+The front page is the site home page. The front page link in the navigation block and navigation bar is called 'Home'.
-==Changing the look of the Front Page ==
+When logged in, a user's customized home page is called the 'Dashboard'.
-Each block has a number of configuration settings that you can change. Each block is assigned to a "region" and this positioning is controlled in the
-    ► Site pages ► Configuring a (name) block
-page. There are a number of other settings you can use to configure the display of the Front page. Be careful, but do not be afraid to experiment, and you can easily create almost any look you like by using these configuration settings.
-==How can I change the look of my Front Page to include a HTML block in the centre column?==
+==How can I change the look of the front page?==
-There are lots of different ways to do this. The easiest is to use the ''Administration > Front Page > [[Front Page settings]]''>>Include Topic setting.
-# Go to '''Front Page''' and change each setting to None, None, None None. This Front Page means '''before''' log in so what do you want your visitors to see?
+*There are various ways of enhancing your front page without needing access to theme files on the server. First, see the section on tips and tricks in [[Front page settings]].
-# Go to '''Front page items when logged in''' and change each setting to what you want, or None, None, None, None. This displays '''after''' log in.
+*If you are using Classic, Boost or other bootstrap-based themes  you can then do some cool things with Bootstrap layout elements, as described in the thread [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=267662 LOOK & LEARN: How to add marketing spots as a front page topic].
-# Go to '''Include a topic section''' and click this ON, a tick appears in the check box.
+*See also the simple customisation of the School demo front page in [[Standard themes]].
-# Go to '''Save Changes''' and when saved, return to the Front Page.
+*You can set  a different front page for guests and logged in users with [[Conditional activities]] as described in the thread [https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=268238 Show a different page to guests and logged in users].
-# Click the "Turn editing on" button and you should see two drop-down combo boxes and a number of icons.
+*You may consider installing a custom theme from the [https://moodle.org/plugins/browse.php?list=category&id=3 Moodle plugins directory].
-# Select the "Add a resource" and take your pick of either a Label or a Web Page. (Hint: The label is perhaps a better option here, but suit yourself.
-At this point you can edit the label or web page any way you want. You are taken to the WYSIWYG editor so you can include any text or image you like. When done, save it and return to your [https://docs.moodle.org/en/Front_Page Front Page] and the changes you made should appear.
+==How can I add text and a picture to the centre column?==
-NOTE: This has been tested in Moodle 2.0 and the same conditions apply, so it will work. It is strongly recommended that to do this, use a Label as the container for your table though. Seems to sit more easily in the Front Page.
+# In ''Administration > Front page settings > Edit settings'' make sure that 'Include a topic section' is ticked
+# In ''Administration > Front page settings'' click 'Turn editing on'
+# Return to the front page and click the edit icon at the top of the centre column
+# Add text and a picture
+# Click the 'Save changes' button
-==How can I get a different look to my Front Page? ==
+==How can I change the logo to the front page?==
-The [[Front Page]] document has a [[Front_Page#Front_page_format_examples|section on examples]] for achieving different looks with a [[Standard themes|standard moodle theme]].
-There you will see examples of 1 column, 2 columns, no center column created by moving or hiding blocks on a Front Page.
+# In ''Administration > Site administration > Appearance > Themes'' click the name of the theme you are using (If you're not sure which theme you are using, you can find out in ''Administration > Site administration > Appearance > Themes > Theme selector'')
+# Enter the URL for your logo. (Note - you must previously have uploaded your logo somewhere online)
+# Click the 'Save changes' button
-You are not limited here to one view for all users. Look at the [[Front Page settings]]. You can chose what non logged in people see in the center column, which maybe different than someone who has logged into your site.  So you can place a message to welcome people, with some blocks but not show any courses.  When someone logs in show them course categories or just their courses. You will find this under the settings '''Front Page''' and '''Front page items when logged in'''.
+Note: This setting is only available for certain themes.
-Experiment with different configurations or options, you might hit on one that is spectacular, or more likely, discover the configuration and theme to meet your needs.
+==How do I get rid of a resource/activity that's appeared in "Site Pages"?==
+When a resource or activity (like a page, file or forum) is added to the [[Main menu block]]  on the front page, it will appear in the Site Pages of the Navigation block. To remove this link, turn on the editing on the front page, go to or add the [[Main menu block]] and click to delete the item.
-The Theme structure of Moodle 2.0 is sufficiently different that these tips will not work. However, the controlling of these things is going to be far easier in the new themes than in previous versions. If you want to develop your own theme, which inherently implies you want to create your own site look, let alone a Front page, there is, already, a lot of documentation available as to how themes are constructed, and how they work. Currently the language is still too technical, so most of us will just not get it, but it is hoped that this situation will not continue for long.
+[[File:mainmenu.png]]
-==How can I make News on Front page seen by only Teachers?==
+==How can I prevent activities I made on the front page being seen in the navigation block?==
-In v1.9, a modification to core code was, arguably, the most stable way of resolving this issue. For v 2.x, permissions can be reset to allow the viewing of news by anyone in a particular group or grouping. As well, the creation of a new Role can be used to allow some people to assume this capability. Perhaps you have Staff members who are not Teachers in a Course that need access to news as well, the v1.9 mod does not allow that so a new Role based on Student that specifically allows the viewing of News and Hidden Files may be more appropriate.
+Uncheck the box "Show front page activities in the navigation"  in ''Administration > Site administration > Appearance > Navigation''.
+==How can I hide front page blocks from guests but show to logged in users?==
-==I want to use our own logo on our Moodle, how can I do that?==
+See [[Blocks FAQ]]
-There are lots of ways.  You will be working with [[Themes]] to make this change.
+==How can I show front page blocks to guests but hide from logged in users?==
+See [[Blocks FAQ]]
+==I want to limit the number of courses that appear on the Front Page==
-The simplest is to switch to the Formal White theme, that comes standard with Moodle. In this theme you can upload your own logo to, say, the Moodle root folder, perhaps by, ftp. If you are interested in developing themes, or just working on your own theme, start with [https://docs.moodle.org/20/en/admin/setting/themesettingformal_white this page]], it begins to explain how themes work. You can always change the rest of the theme by adding in colour and such.
+At this time, there is no easy way to do this, as such. In  '' Administration>Site administration>Appearance>Courses'', you can change the number of courses to be displayed on one page to a different number. Currently, the default is 20, but you can make it whatever you want. It is still messy, though. You can also, from ''Administration>Site administration>Front page>Front page settings'', change what is displayed after login to show only categories.
-[[Image:frontpage02.png|frame|center|Editing theme settings for Moodle 2.0]]
+One way of resolving this issue is to replace the course and Category list on the Front Page with a HTML block that links off to the various category pages. This keeps your courses off the front page altogether.
-==Theme I want to use does not have a logo on it, how can I add my logo?==
+There are a couple of ways to do this, you can have a list of Categories, in a table, or you can use a table full of icons, much the same as Moodle's front page. Depending on your number of Categories, say 11 different subject areas and one Administration area creates a table either four columns or four rows. For most people, the orderly nature of a balanced table implies an orderly site that is really welcome, particularly if the images linking to a Category are clear and the alt tag text says what it is linking to.
-Many of the themes included in a Standard version of Moodle have images, but just as many do not. If you can write PHP and understand HTML and CSS, then you may want to start at the [https://docs.moodle.org/dev/Themes_2.0 Themes 2.0] page. Many themes that use a logo image have an editable setting in the Settings page that appears on the Site Administration block.
+==How do I enable logged-in users to participate in front page activities?==
-==I have a lost a graphic and table on my Front Page when it is being viewed in guest mode in IE6, but it appears in Firefox==
+Either:
-IE6 (7 and 8) has caused trouble for design of web pages and themes for years but most css problems can be easily fixed. Usually the problem is that if for example some image is too big to some div etc "box" IE6 throws the image to next row or outside screen and so on. The fix can be one tag change or one number change - or scaling the new content smaller so that it fits to given box - but the hard part is to find the cause of broken css. Apparently this is a flaw that is found in a number of releases of IE, and it has to do with the implementation of CSS rules by Microsoft in some releases of different versions.
-If new css is needed for IE6 it can usually be added to theme styles_ie6.css file.
+# Go to ''Administration > Site administration > Users > Permissions > Define roles'' and edit the 'Authenticated user on frontpage' role
+# Allow capabilities for the front page activities
+# Click the 'Save changes' button
-Better solution: Use Firefox.
+Or:
-Thanks Mauno.
-==I want to limit the number of courses that appear on the Front Page==
+# Go to ''Administration > Site administration > Front Page > Front Page settings''
+# Set the default front page role to student
+# Click the 'Save changes' button
-At this time, there is no easy way to do this, as such. In the '''Administration > [[Front Page]] > [[Front Page settings]]''' page, you can change the number of courses to be displayed on one page to a different number. Currently, the default is 20, but you can make it whatever you want. It is still messy, though. You can also, using the same '''Front Page Settings''' page, change what is displayed after login to show only categories - but this too, can get messy.
+==How can I add a page to the front page?==
+#With the editing turned on, add the [[Main menu block]] if it isn't already present.
+#Click ''Add and activity or resource'' and add a [[Page]].
+If you wish the page to be hidden but accessible from the top dropdown menu, then:
+#Copy the page's URL.
+#Hide the block.
+#Go to ''Site administration>Appearance>Themes>Theme settings'' and add your page URL to the custom menu items box according to the instructions.
-Perhaps the best way of resolving this issue is to replace the course and Category list on the Front Page with a HTML block that links off to the various category pages. This keeps your courses off the [[Front Page]] altogether.
+Note that if it is possible to install plugins on your Moodle site then you can also use the [https://moodle.org/plugins/view/local_staticpage Static pages plugin].
-There are a couple of ways to do this, you can have a list of Categories, in a table, or you can use a table full of icons, much the same as Moodle's front page. Depending on your number of Categories, say 11 different subject areas and one Administration area creates a table either four columns or four rows. For most people, the orderly nature of a balanced table implies an orderly site that is really welcome, particularly if the images linking to a Category are clear and the alt tag text says what it is linking to. For more information on how to do this, try the [[Front Page]] Moodle Doc.
+==How can I get rid of the site short name in the navigation bar?==
+Sometimes if the short and full names of your site are similar, you might wish to hide the short name. If you are using the Clean or More theme, you can do this by adding lines to the custom CSS box in the appropriate theme settings page.
-==See also==
+To hide the short name but keep the space where it used to be, add:
-*[[Beginning Administration FAQ|Beginning Administration FAQs - 1]]
-*[[Beginning Administration 4 FAQ|Beginning Administration FAQs - 4]]
+ a.brand {visibility:hidden}
-*[[Installation FAQ]]
-*[[Administration FAQ]]
-*[[Xampp Installer FAQ]]
-*[[:Category:Administrator | Index of all Administrator-related pages]]
+To hide the short name and also remove the space where it used to be, add:
+ .navbar .brand {display: none;}
 [[Category:FAQ]]
-[[Category:Front Page]]
-[[Category:Administrator]]
+[[fr:FAQ Page d'accueil]]
+[[de:Startseite FAQ]]
+[[es:Portada FAQ]]

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